The ExtremeContact DWS (DWS for Dry, Wet & Snow) is Continental's Ultra High Performance All-Season radial developed for drivers of sports cars, sports coupes, performance sedans and sport trucks. The ExtremeContact DWS is designed to satisfy their year-round driving needs by blending dry and wet road performance with light snow and slush traction.

ExtremeContact DWS features an advanced silica-based, high-grip, all-season tread compound molded into a unique asymmetrical tread design with stable shoulder blocks and a continuous, notched intermediate rib on the outboard side to enhance responsiveness and cornering stability. The center of the tread features independent blocks separated by high-angle, crisscross grooves to provide the biting edges necessary to deliver wet road and light snow traction while independent inboard shoulder blocks help disperse water to further enhance hydroplaning resistance and foul weather traction.

The ExtremeContact DWS features Tuned Performance Indicators  visible letters molded into the second rib from the outboard shoulder to alert drivers of the tire's performance levels. A visible "DWS" indicates the tire has sufficient tread depth for dry conditions, as well as wet roads and light snow. After the "S" has worn away, the remaining "DW" indicates the tire only has sufficient tread depth for dry and most wet road conditions. And after the "W" and "S" have both worn away, the remaining "D" indicates the tire has appropriate tread depth for dry conditions only.

Notes

Specifications shown are as accurate as possible based on the information provided to us by the tire manufacturers. The dimensions reflect average values for tires measured on the specified measuring rim width. Individual tires may vary from data shown.

All tires are subject to continuous development. The tire manufacturers and Tire Rack reserve the right to change product specifications at any time without notice or obligation.

*Although regularly updated, the country of origin for any tire may vary from the country shown here. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for tires with a specific country of origin.

Tire Rack Test ResultsContinental ExtremeContact DWS

You drive a sporty car, want responsive handling and good overall traction. You need one tire to do it all, and it needs to perform during the summer, as well as cope with winter weather. We tested two of the newest tires to see if they're single-focus specialists or one of the more well-rounded athletes on the Ultra High Performance All-Season team.

Media Gallery

Testing Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires (04:01)

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In the do-it-all world we live in today, it's no surprise we want one tire that can do everything: have reasonable road manners for our commute, responsive handling when a back road blast beckons, and slush and light snow winter traction.

We did a Real World Road Ride and Performance Track Drive to see if one tire really could do it all.

Is the Pilot Sport A/S 3 the New Benchmark for All-Season Tires? (05:30)

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Michelin wants to change the game and reduce seasonal performance trade-offs with the Ultra High Performance All-Season Pilot Sport A/S 3. Packed with new technology, it's traction/handling levels approach those of summer performance tires and offer winter traction as well.

To see if they've raise the bar, we compared it to the top tires in the category.

Is the Pilot Sport A/S 3 the New Benchmark for All-Season Tires? - Winter Update (03:02)

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Michelin wants to change the game and reduce seasonal performance trade-offs with the Ultra High Performance All-Season Pilot Sport A/S 3. Packed with new technology, it's traction/handling levels approach those of summer performance tires and offer winter traction as well.

How well do they perform in winter? We found out during our tests in Sweden where snow and ice prevail!

Tire companies always work to improve on successful designs. Many succeed, but not all.
Continental hit a home run with the ContiExtremeContact Ultra High Performance All-Season tire but then challenged their design team to improve dry road handling and road manners without sacrificing winter traction. Their solution - the new ExtremeContact DWS.

Pirelli faced a similar challenge with the popular P Zero Nero M+S as they developed the P Zero Nero All Season.

Did Continental and Pirelli succeed in raising the bar? Watch the video to learn how.

After a successful run as a top-selling Ultra High Performance All-Season tire, Bridgestone replaced the Potenza RE960AS Pole Position with the new Potenza RE970AS Pole Position. While only a few numbers in the name have changed, there is plenty of advanced technology packed into this tire.

How well do Ultra High Performance All-Season tires perform in the snow and on the ice? We took the top-selling Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS and three other tires from the category to Sweden to find out.

You drive a sporty car, want responsive handling and good overall traction. You need one tire to do it all, and it needs to perform during the summer, as well as cope with winter weather. We tested two of the newest tires to see if they're single-focus specialists or one of the more well-rounded athletes on the Ultra High Performance All-Season team.

Our three-part Arctic Circle winter series from January of 2009 concludes with this evaluation of the effectiveness of Ultra High Performance All-Season tires -- during the height of the winter season -- in Northern Sweden.